Start Chad Cliffton if he is cleared to play against Minnesota. Or go with the rookie TJ Lang. I go with Lang and use a RB or TE to chip on Jarred Allen. Let Lang get all the reps at practice this week. Lang looked pretty good today. Jarred Allen will be a different story.

I go with Lang.

ditto

Lang. No debate. Cliffys career is comin to an end.

And I would run at Allen over and over. Draw him up the field then hand off under him all day long.

Tall order, but Id go with Lang with some help. I dont think there is much of a difference right now between Clifton and Lang. Get Lang some experience, and Clifton cant seem to get out of bed in the morning without getting hurt. Lang did ok today but it wasnt Jared Allen he was facing.

Having said that, I think MM will go with Clifton if he is healthy.

Lang's looked good, but not against anybody yet. I'd be tempted to go with Clifton if he was ready to go.

New Poll on Home Page.

LANG caps for a reason

T.J. Lang for two reasons.

A. Because I think that he gives the team the best chance to win the game. He may need help to contain Jared Allen, but I think that he'll hold up with all the reps in practice and the knowledge that he's the guy. (I also agree with the poster who suggested that they run at Allen all afternoon. That's a sure-fire way to frustrate him into making mistakes.)

B. Because it would really give the team an indication of his future at the position. If he can hold up against one of the premier pass rushers in the NFL as a rookie, there's a good chance that he's the team's future at the position. Simple as that. Throw the rookie to the wolves and see if they eat him. If he fights his way through it and succeeds, then it could change the long-term needs for the offensive line. IMO.

If he struggles, then you put Clifton in and focus on winning the game. Otherwise, you see what the rookie can do in exactly this type of situation. I think that he's up to the challenge and the Browns game was a good warm up for the big time matchup against Allen and the Vikings.

I agree with Ellis and want to bring in a "C"
C. Penalties. Clifton has been a penalty magnet this season. Lang, not so much. It is a lot easier getting ten yards for a first down vs twenty.

T.J. Lang is a guy that I really liked in the draft. I liked his versatility and his temperment. To be perfectly honest, I saw him as an inside player, but I've been very impressed with his limited work as a LT. There's a lot of things about him that remind me of a younger version of Mark Tauscher. He's quicker than I expected him to be in pass protection and he has a good grasp of the offense for a rookie. In fact, it really does remind me of Tausch coming in as a scrappy rookie and holding the position for multiple seasons. I think that Lang has exactly that type of potential as a LT, and if they end up getting another LT prospect I can see him flipping to RT just as easily. Good player.

I guess I'll disagree here, only because Clifton has had some history of success against Allen, so if he is 100%, I'd go with Clifton.

Lang hasn't really played a good team yet, and there will be plenty of time to see what he's got. If Clifton isn't 100%, then I'd go with Lang.

Guess I'm in the minority though.

Lang.

0 penalties and 0 sacks allowed by the offensive line. Bad team or not, don't change what works.

I'm 100% would go with Lang. Clifton with 4 penalties in his last game, no reason for that. And that was a home game on top of that.

My problem with going with Clifton based on his past success is that, so far he really just hasn't looked very good this year. I expected him to be solid for one more season (at least as a pass blocker), but he just hasn't lived up to my expectations. So far this season he's made a lot of mistakes, he's had a number of (stupid) penalties, he's given up a number of sacks and he's still not very strong in the running game. At this point in the season, many weren't upset to see him suffer a minor injury if it meant seeing what T. J. Lang could do in the lineup. I'm pleased with what he's done so far, and I'd like to see him remain the starter unless he starts playing poorly. The fact that Lang hasn't played against a good team has merit, but does that mean that we should pull him from the lineup when facing a good team/player? I think that we should see how he responds to the situation. I have confidence that he'll be up for the challenge of blocking Jared Allen based on what I've seen thus far.

I don't think there is any chance that Clifton will be 100%.

Clifton will be something less. Will it be 80%? 95%? 65%?

I believe the grass will be a little longer than usual next Sun. That does nullify Allen's quickness a little. I think Clifton would be the better choice as long as he is healthy. No substitute for experience in a big game like this.

Clifton is not as likely to get set up as he has seen it all.

I go with Lang next week and the 9 plus weeks after that.

If Clifton is 100% I go with him against MN. If not I go with Lang. If Lang holds his own against Allen, the job is his.

Clifton is not 100%, and he probably never will be again in his career. I think Lang should start, because I think we need to know if he's the LT of the future, and he's played well enough to earn the opportunity. If Clifton can play, keep him on the game day roster in case you need him.

I rather give Clifton plenty of time to heel and get to 90-95% because chances are he'll be needed later in the year. Instead of giving Lang help on every play, I would throw plenty of screens at Allen, and run right at him. That should slow him down.

The poll really doesn't address this topic. It would be a great test for T.J., but now is not the time to see how he does. Clifton has had success with Allen so if forced with a choice I say go with Chad. I think the key with someone like Allen is to keep him honest so he can't just bull rush all the time. Runs, screens, and reverses will help do that. If we don't open up the playbook Sunday we never will.

Lang v Clifton is our version of the old QB controversy. WHo's the most popular player on a FB team? The backup QB.
Did anyone see Alex Smith looking like the second coming of Montana yesterday in San Fran.

Well before we all become too enamored with TJ let's get a few more starts under his belt. That said I still go with Clifton for this one. He has played well on grass against Allen. He must be 100% healthy though. Anything less I go with TJ.

I play Clifton

If we do start Clifton, I say we have him false start on the first Offensive play, just to get it out of his system.

Well, if this does happen, I'd say have Cliffy fire-off and obliterate Allen, setting the tone for a physical game (a lot like Patrick Ewing in the '82 NCAA Championship game, in which he purposely got 5 goaltending calls, but pretty much owned the paint after that).

I didn't get to watch yesterday, but the fact that AR stayed upright and clean means that the OL did their job. I agree w/ starting Lang, and keeping Cliffy active for back-up duty if needed against Minny.

Allen and the Vikings line and linebackers are very good. I'd like nothing better than to have Lang both get that test and ace it, without overly much help. That said, it's very unlikely that Lang really is that great or is ready to excel on such a difficult test.

I'm an optimist, so of course I'm hoping that he gets the chance and does OK.

Several Clifton thoughts:
1. I don't recall Clifton having success versus Allen last year. The offense struggled in the opener in Green Bay, and the line got totally dominated in Minnesota. (It was interceptions and big plays that kept us in the game, but for the most part the offensive line got totally demolished, much like the game this year.) So I don't see precedent assuring me that Clifton can handle Allen.

2. As has been mentioned, what a younger healthier practiced Clifton used to be able to to is of uncertain relevance to what he'll be able to do this week, since he's hardly practiced this season (or last), and is most certainly not going to go from being unhealthy enough to be unused yesterday, to go all the way to be 100% or anywhere close on Sunday.

3. 'I think the key with someone like Allen is to keep him honest so he can't just bull rush all the time. Runs, screens, and reverses will help do that.' I think that's a great point.

But even a younger, healthier Clifton wasn't a good run-blocker or screen-blocker. He was good at pass-blocking. I have no idea whether Lang is good at anything, pass-blocking or screen-blocking or run-blocking or occasionally pancaking Allen. He may be worse than clifton at pass-blocking and as bad or worse at everything else. But I do wonder whether perhaps Lang might not be better at run-blocking? If you want to keep Allen a little more off-balance and not able to sell out completely on the pass run, perhaps having a younger, more mobile, healthier-kneed kid who can occasionally go after Allen instead of passively having Allen go after/around him might help keep Allen on his heels occasionally? Or maybe pop some explosive runs or screens when Allen does sell out to pass rush?

Lang... Clifton backing up.

This UNIT had no sacks and no penalties. We need cohesion, as the o-line needs CONTINUITY among it's players, more-so than any other group. The guy next to you needs to know, not wonder, that you have his back. We just can't keep jumbling in, the old with the new, and expect this UNIT to excel.

Right now, IMO, Tausch and Cliffy are solid veteran backups, that would play a necessary role, in and if that... they would share their valuable experience (I don't see why they wouldn't), where our depth couldn't be better than any of us expected three weeks ago.

I wouldn't say that. Wimbley is a decent pass rusher. He already has 24 sacks in now his 4th season. He had double digit sacks his rookie season. He currently has 4 sacks in 7 games which puts him on pace to end up with about 9-10 sacks this year. Certainly not a great pass rusher like Ware or Allen but he can win matchups and get sacks at times. I think Lang is our best bet for the rest of the season until Clifton proves he can play anywhere close to as well as he has in the past. I just haven't been very impressed with Clifton this year. Also Lang looked significantly better against Allen than Colledge did. The offense seemed to get a jump start with Lang at LT against the Vikings.

Let's not forget that this Browns defense doesn't have a terrible pass rush. They got to Big Ben 3 times and were about middle of the road statistically in sacks before playing the Packers. We didn't play a team with no pass rush. They have as many sacks as the Packers do.

Thanks, strat, I appreciate that post. I for one didn't know whether Wimbley was good or the Browns rush was as bad as the rest of the team. The point that they are decent, that's encouraging.

I also agreed that Lang on TV looked better against Allen than Colledge.

He did give up the sack in his limited playing time, however.

Lang may well be a better starter -- all I'm getting at is that there's very little evidence to prove it.

I think there are 2 questions:

1)Would Lang play as poorly as Clifton has this season?

2) Would Clifton suddenly play better than he has all season and back to the level he was in years past?

In my view, there is very little to lose if you at least start the game with Lang. If he's getting wupped, then bring in the vet. If not, then you know you have something for years to come.

Input from the guy who actually gets a vote:

Good. Spitz and Clifton haven't been healthy in awhile and their replacements have filled in nicely. Let them play and then make a switch if you need to because they can't keep up. I'm excited to get to see Spitz playing a game against a top notch pass rusher. Let's see how it goes. I think that he'll do well, and if he does. . . he might not give up the starting job even after Clifton gets back to 100%.

Here's a hypothetical. Let's say Lang does well and locks down the starting LT spot. Cliffy then becomes a backup. Suddenly, we have the veteran depth on both sides of the line (with Tauscher on the right side) that we were shouting from the rooftops earlier in the season when the LT spot was a mess. Wouldn't that be ironic if the LT depth is actually Cliffy himself?

If Spitz is ready to go I would be shocked if they didn't play him. Wells has been okay in pass coverage, but we're not running inside lately for a reason.

I don't think that he'll be healthy. Those back problems are terrible and it often takes weeks to overcome severe spasms. I'd rather they keep him out now to get him healthy for the 2nd half of the season when the weather turns for the worse and we need another mudder out there. I'm sure thankful that they didn't trade Wells like many of us thought they would. Having him on the roster is sure paying off right now.